1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a data processing device for evaluating the results of a number of bacteria-identification tests to determine what type of bacteria is being tested.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bacteria belong to a number of genera. There may be a large number of species within a genus. In general, the bacteria in any one genus give a predetermined positive or negative result to certain laboratory tests. These tests are therfore used in combination to determine the genus of any unknown bacteria which is presented to a biological laboratory for examination. One difficulty with such tests is that unusual species of a genus may give test results which are abnormal for that genus. For this reason, the results of a single test frequently cannot be used to provide a conclusive discrimination between two genuses.
Computers have previously been programmed to analyze test results for identification of bacteria, but the complexity and expense of such computers have prevented their widespread use. U.S. Pat. No. 2,352,182 discloses a simple switch-operated teaching device for identifying orders of the animal kingdom, but is useless in a test sequence in which individual tests are not conclusive, but only indicate probabilities.